


Much better tastes

by Jaquiele



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Awkward Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Destiny Trio has ptsd, Dick Jokes, Gen, Kairi and Selphie are besties, Kairi cannot into cooking, Riku knows he f-ed up, Selphie is so done, Tidus and Wakka are nuts about blitzball, catching up with your friends, i can't believe there is ship tag but no friendship tag, it's friendship y'all, its post kh3 with everybody safe and happy, others are mentioned but they don't appear, they grew up together, yes sora im looking at you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2020-01-23 21:52:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18558595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jaquiele/pseuds/Jaquiele
Summary: Sometimes you find yourself on a battlefield with a keyblade as a soldier, sometimes in the Realm of Darkness as a saviour. And other time you end up as a burnt lobster.Riku was all three.Thank gods for soothing gel and friends with better social skills than you.





	Much better tastes

**Author's Note:**

> Just my take on what could be, like you know, Square not forgetting that they introduced characters and never bringing them up again.

„There you are!”

A loud shout along with a drop of a bag near his legs brought startled Riku, his eyes moving from watching the waves to the person beside him. He expected Sora, maybe Kairi to come and scold him for isolating himself again, but to his surprise it was Selphie. She was dressed in an old yellow crop top and washed jeans instead of the school uniform, so he must have been at the beach for few hours now. Out of them all, the brunette lived the furthest from school. Before he could even ask why she was looking for him, she already started to take off her shoes and socks. Briefly, Riku remembered before they left again, after Mickey’s letter, that Kairi mentioned that Selphie had a crush on him. Awkwardly he thought how angry she would get if he just run away, but she didn’t gave him a chance to excuse himself, starting to talk right away.

“Kai said I’ll find your pasty ass here, if you were wondering. I’m pretty sure she wanted to come along but her dad asked her if she could help with dinner, so she stayed. I wisely choose to run, I still don’t get why mayor insist on her cooking. I mean, she’s awesome at baking but, man, last time I came over she burnt a kettle. A kettle Riku. We were sitting in the kitchen the whole time!”

Not even waiting for a response she dropped herself next to him, taking out her phone and typing a message, probably to said girl.

“I don’t get why you’re still out in the sun, you already look like a lobster. Good thing I brought soothing gel. It’s even cooled. You three were gone so long that even I stopped getting sunburn, now I tan like a model. At least that’s what Tidus said, but I think he just wanted to apologize for smacking me in head with the ball. Did you know that he and Wakka want to be professional players? Well, you probably did, blitzball is all they talk about lately. I think we should all go to the eliminations with them, you know for a support. But still, I have it, cause it’s actually good for your skin and because I’m friends with idiots.”

While she started rummaging through her bag, the silver haired boy sneaked a glance at his arms and with a frown found out that she was right, his arms and probably neck was unhealthy red, that would explain why it itched so much.

“Got it!” she smiled brightly and moved so she was now kneeling next to him. “Gimmie your arm.”

“Selphie, I don’t like you.”

_Shit_.

He probably shouldn’t have blurted it out like that, but she only laughed, grabbing his arm anyway, but stopping when she felt him tensing.

“Uhh…, I hate you too? I mean, it won’t hurt that bad, seriously, who do you take me for? While you and Sora were gone who do you think was the lifeguard at main beach? I have proper training and all.” The look she send him convinced him that she didn’t exactly got what he meant, so carefully, he pried her hand of his forearm.

“I mean…Kairi told me you had a crush on me and you’re nice and all but I’m sorry I don’t like you like that.”

He expected her to call him names, or to be hurt. What he didn’t expect was for Selphie to start laughing so hard she started crying, struggling to catch a breath. When she didn’t stop after two minutes, the silver haired boy cleared his throat, feeling a blush forming on his face.

“What’s so funny, I’m serio-“ another howl cut him in a half word.

“Oh my god, Riku you dumbass! That was like two years ago!” she finally wheezed out and went to grab his arm again.

Confused, he didn’t protest this time when she started applying the cooled gel to his burns.

“You’re not.. mad?”

“Why would I? Like I said, that was ages ago you doofus. I mean, sure, you’re buff, hot and all, but that would be weird. Like I don’t know, me dating Tidus or Sora. Gross. And I never even had an actual crush on you dummy, I told Kai that you were a real looker with long hair. That’s different, she probably assumed that I liked you. But then I got a good look at it and god, you had so many split ends I was about to ask how long ago was the divorce!.” She stopped to slap at his hand when he tried to scratch his elbow. “No touching! Wait, is that why you were avoiding me? Wow, Ri, I feel sorry for the poor soul that will end up with you. Hope they’re ready for lack of social understanding.”

“ _Hey!_ I don’t have a lack of social understanding!”

Well, maybe he did, but he was too stubborn to admit that, especially now. Suddenly he felt bad for bailing out of every meeting with Kairi whenever she mentioned that her friend would tag along. He felt a bit childish now, avoiding her like that, just assuming things and not asking. He felt like the jealous teen again, to be specific.

“Wait, you said you were looking for me?”

Satisfied with her job, the brunette threw the bottle back in her bag and wiped her hands on her tights.

“Well, yeah, me and Kai were thinking about having a small beach party. For Tidus and Wakka, after the tests. And then we thought, hey when was the last time we all managed to meet together? So yeah, a party for us six, also head ups, I’m gonna drill you three on all those times you disappears. I mean, Kai already told me some of it and oh boy, that sword of hers looks so pretty! She even showed me some moves! Always knew she was a fighte-“

“WHAT?!”

Whipping his face so he was looking directly at the girl, Riku felt a headache coming. How many times he reminded Sora and Kairi that they still had to keep the order?

“She showed you her keyblade?!”

“Keyblade! That’s what it’s called! Yeah, she did, apparently you and Sora have those too, and every one looks different. I’m soooo making you two show me yours. Keyblades, not dicks, please don’t do that.” As if oblivious to his sputtering and quickly reddening face, she continued pleased with her joke, propping herself on her elbows and kicking her legs out. “Gods only knows how many times I saw your butts when you and boys were being little shits and pulling each other’s pants down. And hey, she told me you’re some kind of master now, and that it’s a big deal? Congrats!”

Riku only choked out a strained ‘thanks’ and quickly stood up, planning to make a run for it, his pride be damned, but Selphie was surprisingly on her feet not a second later, her hand latching on his bicep. Looking down at her face, he noticed that she did looked annoyed.

“Where do you think you’re going? Come on! Seriously, why do you have to keep running?” suddenly dropping her arms down her sides, she let ought a sigh. “Riku, I know neither me, nor Wakka or Tidus went through whatever you three had to go. Gods, Kai probably has some kind of PTSD or something. She was crashing at my place and she woke up screaming and almost freezing my wardrobe, because she had a nightmare. Freezing! Like you know, magic! And you and Sora always look like you’ve seen some shit. You all changed so much since you left. I know I’ll never get it, but come on! We are your friends too! Stop. Pushing. Us. Away.”

Each of the last words were punctuated with a finger stabbing his chest along with a huff and he couldn’t help himself but snort, feeling some weight lifting from his heart. Seeing the small smile on his face, Selphie grinned, crouching to retrieve her shoes and bag, then hooking her elbow with Riku’s.

“Is that okay? You always tense whenever someone gets close, even Wakka noticed, that’s why he stopped slapping your back by the way, though your spine is probably less likely to crack now. I don’t know if you noticed, but he’s gotten really strong! So yeah, I can move away if you want. And for the record, no, I’m not flirting with you idiot. I have much better taste.”

With another snort, he surprisingly noted that he didn’t really mind the touch so he just shook his head and stuffed his hands in pockets. It wasn’t really different from how he walked around with Kairi anyway (sometimes also with Sora, the other boy’s height making it easy to lose him in a crowd and maybe Riku still had a mild panic attack whenever he suddenly couldn’t locate his best friend, but he knew Sora felt similar about losing him, so he didn’t really pay to much attention to the looks they sometimes got). Letting himself get dragged along the beach by Selphie, he listened to the plans she already made with Kairi about the party, sometimes cutting in with his own ideas.

Not for the first time he wished he could go back in time and slap some sense into his younger self, for taking everything for granted. He silently thanked every deity that he could think of for having such forgiving and caring friends. And maybe telling them some things about their adventures wouldn’t be so bad. After all, they already knew that they left the world, so it’s not like they were really breaking the order anymore. And they knew firsthand how much of an asshole he was when he was younger. Maybe one day he’ll be able to tell them why exactly the islands were dragged into darkness. Maybe one day he’ll be able to fully forgive himself.

Noticing that they were not far from the local café, Riku slightly elbowed his companion.

“Wanna get ice cream? My treat.”

As expected, Selphie grinned, faking a shocked gasp.

“Wow, Riku, are you asking me on a date?”

 He didn’t even tried to hide the smile that found it’s way on his face, feeling the most carefree and comfortable since getting back to the Destiny Islands.

“Nah, I have much better taste.” With that he started to walk towards the building, the brunette trailing after him, trying to put her shoes on midwalk.

He could never get back the time he wasted when he was younger, nor when he was away, fighting for Sora and later alongside him. He’ll never get back the rest of his childhood, his own stupidity costing him the awkward time of growing up and going through puberty among his friends, he never really got around to do all the typical pastimes, like skipping school (because skipping for 3 years doesn’t count), stressing about his high school exams, the pain of noticing first pimples (he was technically blind when it happened; poor Namine, he’ll have to make it up to her somehow) or even going on stupid dates (but he could always just drop the “play” from playdates he had with Kairi and Sora as children; it’s probably the same, right?). But with a light heart, he realized that there was nothing to stop him from trying to make up for the lost time. It took him a while to realize that when they were gone, the rest have grown up too and they have changed.

If four years ago somebody would tell him that he would be having a heart to heart with Selphie of all people, whom before he always considered shallow, he would laughed in that person’s face. But now, he was glad that even if he, Sora and Kairi missed almost all of the nuances of growing up like typical teenagers, their friends would still be there for them, to guide them and help to figure out the “normal” life.

And if the normal life never wanted them back, he knew for a fact that Mickey made the magic brooms set up a huge bed in one of the unused guest rooms at the castle (because of course that now when he was content with going unnoticed, he just had to end up being freakishly tall, so he stuck out of a crowd like a sore thumb). Or he could simply hang up a hammock in the gardens. He truly doubted that either Mickey or Minnie would mind that much.

**Author's Note:**

> HC that Riku and Sora were waterguards during summers break as a summer job, but once they were gone, Selphie took that position. Before technology on Destiny Islands adcanced, now she probably has a blog (kudos if you know why lmao).  
> HC that Kairi is good at baking but can't cook for a shit (like me lol).  
> Riku has fair complexion so he burns easily. Also HC that technology advanced and they have phones now on DI.  
> I don't really know, I just wanted to explore Riku having friends outside of Kairi and Sora. This kid is sometimes so fucking awkward you bet he'd just go "nope" when he thinks he might get into awkward situation ( him thinking Selphie is crushing on him and having to talk to her).  
> And you bet that somewhere back in Mickey's head is "yas, my tol son Riku who is not my son" and Minnie going like "sure, he's nice kid, he's our's"  
> Oh and the image of Riku hitting puberty while he was blind most of the time and he wasn't himself is for some reason absolutely hilarious.


End file.
